Full experience
Full Day Ephesus Tour
Ephesus plus the Terrace Houses, House of Virgin Mary, Temple of Artemis and Isa Bey Mosque — the complete day, at your pace.
Our most-booked tour
Best of Ephesus Tour
Three sites, one unforgettable half-day: the marble city itself, the hillside home of the Virgin Mary, and the last column of a Wonder of the World.
- from $37 per person
- ⏲ 4–5 hours
- Private · your group only
- Lunch + skip-the-line included
- TÜRSAB No. 15746
- No prepayment
- Skip-the-line included
Tour overview
What makes this tour special
If you ask us "which tour should I take?", this is usually the answer. The Best of Ephesus Tour combines the three sites travelers cross oceans for: the grand ruins of Ephesus, the serene House of Virgin Mary in the pine forest above the city, and the Temple of Artemis — one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
In Ephesus you will walk from the Odeon down the marble Curetes Street, past temples and fountains, to the Library of Celsus — the third-greatest library of antiquity with its 12,000 scrolls — and the Grand Theater, where Saint Paul confronted a rioting crowd of silversmiths.
Then the mood changes completely: a short, beautiful drive into the hills brings you to the humble stone house where, tradition and papal visits affirm, the Virgin Mary spent her final years. Discovered through the visions of the German nun Anne Catherine Emmerich, it remains one of the most moving Christian shrines in Turkey.
Highlights
- The complete Ephesus walk: Odeon, agoras, Curetes Street, Library of Celsus, Grand Theater
- A quiet visit to the House of Virgin Mary, blessed by three papal pilgrimages
- The Temple of Artemis — one wonder, one surviving column, one great story
- Lunch and local artisan visit included — fresh local dishes cooked by local chefs, with traditional handcrafts to admire
- Private vehicle and guide throughout — start when you want, linger where you love
Price, pickup & practical details
Everything you need to decide
from$37per person — final quote depends on your group size — from solo travelers to full-coach groups of 44; every group gets a private guide and a private vehicle
Lunch and skip-the-line priority entrance are included. Entrance tickets are paid separately at the Ministry’s gate price — we buy them for you, with no mark-up. No prepayment is needed to reserve, and there is no cancellation fee.
- Duration
- 4–5 hours
- Start time
- Your choice — we suggest 08:00, when the gate opens and the streets are quiet; cruise guests start the moment they are ashore
- Pickup / meeting
- Your hotel in Kusadasi or Selcuk, the Kusadasi cruise port, or Izmir airport — door to door
- Group size
- 1 – 44 travelers, private — never shared. Full-size coach available for big groups
- Languages
- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Russian, Italian, German
- Walking
- Moderate, mostly downhill — comfortable shoes, hat and water in summer
- Tickets
- Bought for you in advance at the official gate price — see current entrance fees
- Cancellation
- No prepayment, so no cancellation fee — read the policy
For cruise passengers
Which tour fits your hours ashore?
| Hours ashore | Tour that fits | Tour length |
|---|---|---|
| 3–4 hours | Treasures of Ephesus Tour | 3 hours |
| 4–5 hours | Ephesus Interrupted Tour | 4 hours |
| 5–6 hours | Best of Ephesus Tour (this tour) | 4–5 hours |
| 6–8 hours | Archaeological Ephesus Tour | 5–6 hours |
| 8 hours or more | Full Day Ephesus Tour | 7–8 hours |
Hours ashore run from the gangway to the all-aboard time in your ship's daily program. Any other window: the Kusadasi to Ephesus Shore Excursion is shaped around your hours (4–6 hours).
Step by step
Your day, hour by hour
Private pickup
From your Kusadasi or Selcuk hotel, cruise port or Izmir — your guide greets you with a name sign, and your day begins on your schedule.
Ephesus Ancient City
Two hours among some of the best-preserved Roman streets in the world, timed to dodge the biggest crowds at the Library of Celsus and the 25,000-seat Grand Theater.
House of Virgin Mary
Five minutes from the ruins, a world away in atmosphere. Visit the chapel, drink from the sacred spring and leave a wish at the wishing wall.
Temple of Artemis
Close the loop at the site of the ancient world's grandest temple, with the Basilica of St John and Ayasuluk Fortress in view on the hill beyond.
Lunch & local artisan visit
We close the day at a local artisan center: lunch is whatever is local and whatever is fresh, cooked by local chefs and cooks, while Turkish handcraft masters demonstrate their work around you.
Priority access
Skip the line at every gate
Book with us and you do not queue. As a licensed Turkish travel agency, Gezginol holds priority passes and buys your tickets before you arrive — so you walk past the ticket line and straight into the site.
On a summer morning at Ephesus the queue at the gate can run to an hour. Independent visitors join it; cruise groups join it; our guests do not. Your guide has the tickets in hand before your vehicle stops, which is the difference between starting your visit at nine o'clock and starting it at ten.
- Skip-the-line entry — tickets bought in advance, never at the gate with you standing in it
- Fast pass at busy sites — the priority lane where the site operates one
- Priority entrance across Turkey — not only Ephesus: Istanbul, Cappadocia, Pamukkale, Pergamon and every other region we guide
- No mark-up on the tickets — we add nothing to the fast-pass tickets. You pay exactly the same price the Ministry of Culture and Tourism charges at the entrance gate; we simply buy them for you in advance so you never stand in the queue
To be precise about what this is: we skip the ticket queue, not the security check, and no agency can override a site's daily capacity. But the ticket line is the one that actually costs you your morning.
It is one of the quiet advantages of booking a licensed agency rather than turning up alone.
No surprises
What's included
Included
- Skip-the-line priority entrance at every site on the itinerarySkip-the-line tickets, explained
- Lunch included — whatever is local and fresh, cooked by local chefs, at a local artisan center
- Private licensed tour guide (English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Russian, Italian or German)
- Private air-conditioned vehicle with professional driver
- Hotel, cruise port or airport pickup and drop-off
- Parking fees and fuel
- All taxes, official expenses and required insurance
Not included
- The cost of the entrance tickets — we buy them for you at exactly the gate price set by the Ministry, with no mark-up (see our entrance fees page)
- Personal drinks
- Personal expenses and souvenirs
- Gratuities (optional, always appreciated)
Arriving by sea?
We serve all of these cruise lines
Whichever ship brings you to Kusadasi or Izmir, our guides know its pier, its schedule and exactly how much time you really have ashore.
Guaranteed pick-up and drop-back on time — for every one of these cruise lines.
Good to know
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the House of Virgin Mary suitable for non-Christian visitors?
Absolutely. Guests of every faith find the house and its story deeply atmospheric, and Muslims also venerate Mary — you will see visitors of many religions side by side.
How much walking is involved?
Around two hours of gentle downhill walking in Ephesus itself plus short strolls at the other sites. Comfortable shoes and a hat in summer are the only requirements.
Can we add the Terrace Houses?
Yes — they sit inside Ephesus and add roughly 45 minutes. Just mention it when booking, or even ask your guide on the day.
Do you charge extra for the skip-the-line tickets?
No. We add nothing to the fast-pass tickets — you pay exactly the same price the Ministry of Culture and Tourism charges at the entrance gate. The only difference is that we buy them for you in advance, so you walk past the ticket queue instead of standing in it.
Ready for the Best of Ephesus Tour?
Every tour is private and tailored to your pace. Send us your date — a local expert replies within 24 hours.
- TÜRSAB No. 15746
- No prepayment
- Skip-the-line included
- Reply within 24 h
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Full experience
Cruise favorite
Treasures of Ephesus Tour
The crowd-beating short tour: Library of Celsus, Grand Theater and the Temple of Artemis in one perfectly timed morning.
Pilgrimage
Biblical Ephesus Tour
The theater of the silversmiths' riot, Mary's hillside home and the tomb of Saint John — scripture and stone, side by side.